Dunedin city councilor’s legal battle over parking ticket fails

Controversial Dunedin City Councilman Lee Vandervis failed in his legal battle that resulted from a $ 12 parking fine.

But the outspoken veteran representative says he is already considering an appeal of Judge David Gendall’s decision to dismiss his request for judicial review.

On September 13, Vandervis’s vehicle was fined for exceeding the half-hour time limit where it had parked.

“That relatively innocuous event was the catalyst for what followed,” the judge said in his recently published ruling.

Vandervis said that he had paid $ 4.20 for an hour of parking and that the signage that it was a 30-minute maximum zone was not visible from the trail.

His outrage led him to complain to a member of the council staff at the reception of the Octagon customer service desk.

“His attitude during this exchange was aggressive, and his voice was raised the whole time. He was leaning over the counter trying to intimidate me and waving his finger at me. I tried to stay calm and explain that there are processes going on, but this seemed to irritate him more, “said the clerk.

His complaint about the councilman’s behavior was referred to CEO Sandy Graham, who directed independent investigator David Benham to assess the matter.

After their final report was presented, the councilors unanimously resolved to issue Mr. Vandervis a written censure for breach of the code of conduct.

In reaction, Vandervis requested a judicial review in Dunedin Superior Court, alleging that the council “made a significant error by failing to comply both with the requirements established for the process and with the principles of natural justice.”

Among their specific complaints was that the council had not appointed an investigative panel as it was legally required to do, and there were various criticisms of Mr. Benham’s investigation into the matter.

Judge Gendall discarded each point in turn.

“I am satisfied … that Mr. Benham generally took appropriate action and conducted his entire investigative process on a reasonable and objectively fair basis. And I also conclude, as I amplify below, that Mr. Vandervis had ample opportunity to refute the claims against him, particularly in his lengthy interview with Mr. Benham and later in his appearance and the statements he made before the full board meeting, “he said.

While it wasn’t a big topic at last month’s hearing, there were suggestions that the story was leaked to derail Vandervis’s mayor’s prospects.

Judge Gendall said there was no evidence of who provided the material to the Otago Daily Times “or that the newspaper article was politically motivated, or that the timing of these events was significant in any way.”

Vandervis was scathing with the judgment.

“Judge Gendall’s series of decisions now makes it dangerous for any elected representative to complain about any council staff member not doing their job, as this complaint can be ignored by staff and replaced by an anonymous complaint code against the representative, “he wrote. on his blog.

“The already limited job of being an active elected representative has now become more restricted and open to anonymous attacks. It is becoming futile to try to fight or complain to the City Council.”

The parties were left to organize the expenses; if they could not reach an agreement, the matter would go back to court.